13.11.05

What's up in Jamaica right now is the murder rate. Should the homicides continue at their currentpace�over 1,180 since January�Jamaica could end the year with the highest per capita murder rate inthe world. What's that got todo with Shaggy, Sean Paul, and other dancehall acts releasing albums this fall?Nothing.And that's their and dancehall's potential dilemma. Violence isn't new to Jamaica;neither is dancehall's role as escapism-cum-therapy. But when flamboyant dancer Gerald Bogle Levy� virtually a symbol of dancehall itself�was murdered in Kingston in January, a line was crossed: The sacred realm of thedance, outr� sanctuary from theharsh realities of ghetto life, had been bloodied. Morethan ever, the conscious, one-drop reggae that begandominating the scene last year better fits the national mood. Soothing or seething, roots had enough fire to trivialize dancehall: The massive willie-bounced while Kingston burned.~~Baz Dreisinger

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